Parents to blame for ‘snowf lake generation,’ says TV star Smillie
SHE was branded a ‘pushy showbiz mum’ after letting her daughter appear in front of judges on The Voice.
But former television presenter Carol Smillie has hit back – and blamed other soft parents for creating a snowflake generation.
Her own three children aside, the frank 56-year-old said modern teenagers are ‘controlled by anxiety’, ‘rude’ and need to toughen up.
Only weeks ago, Miss Smillie was criticised for letting her 18-year-old daughter Jodie audition for the ITV talent show.
She said: ‘I do feel that there has been a loss of politeness in this generation... though I suspect my mother felt the same.
‘I don’t like people who are rude, impolite or have a lack of manners. I really can’t bear it when someone chucks litter out of car windows.’
And when asked about wilting teenagers, Miss Smillie, who lives in Glasgow with husband Alex Knight, said: ‘That is our fault – the parents. We have to teach them that s*** happens.’
Despite being the face of daytime television in the 1990s, Miss Smillie said she had stepped down from her presenting duties to focus on motherhood and a string of business ventures, including her own line of incontinence underwear.
She said: ‘I knew my TV career was coming to an end, and I was prepared for that. It has been brilliant and I’m sure many would envy it, but you have to move on and give someone else their turn. I didn’t want to have to wait around for less interesting presenting work as I got older. I don’t like being at someone else’s whim, I like to have matters in my own hands.’
Miss Smillie, a former contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, has also admitted stepping over older women while climbing the daytime television ladder in the 1990s, beating older rivals to become the host of the National Lottery and hit BBC home renovation show Changing Rooms.
The ex-model said her career would have been longer if she had been male. But she added: ‘Times are changing. TV should be shaken up, older presenters are better on the whole – they are more self-assured, calmer. They roll with problems because they have experience.
‘But I never gave consideration to older girls when I was younger, so I can’t bleat about it now.’